List your subwoofer and its limitations /strengths

[Dolby CP-200]

Just purchased the smaller JBL control SB-5 TCB once owned one around 1990 to 1994 and thou I didn't have the frequency tools back then apart from the AVP basic pink noise and film soundtracks or the odd music, mostly film soundtracks to demo the tiny sub.

I ran a few frequency sweep tests after checking firstly with pink noise and seeing it wasn't going down particularly low enough. I then thought of the stuffing one or two of the ports up. Stuffed two of the smaller ports up and ran the frequency sweep again and wow. Its now making it below 40Hz if not bit lower than that but I guess the excursion maybe a little higher so I won't overdrive it. Its got amble amplifier power. It won't do the high SPL db as the professional counterpart JBL 4782 TCB but the stuff two ports up technique sure improves. I wouldn't mind three or more of these.

Its handling well with Star Trek the motion picture (1979) laserdisc theatrical Dolby Stereo mix on DVD-RW with repeated playing of certain scenes. Some parts Jerry Goldsmith score manages down to 35Hz with shuttle pod docking with Enterprise and other scenes where Kirk walks out of the transporter room into the corridor after it malfunctioned and there's a few lower like timpani notes at 33Hz according to my ears and feeling it with spectrum lab.

Not bad for £95.00 and in good condition with tiny minor bits that I'll fix but the x4 6.5" in good working order.

Adding update as the microphones have been fitted above in the room above against some of the overhead surrounds and so I can take new frequency room readings.

Repeated the sweep with x2 JBL 4782 TCB. If I can only find way to stuff up some its ports as it has a metal grill covering each port. Or maybe attach something to cover over the ports and run the frequency sweep again.

 

[Dwgwnr1969]

Kliptch ksw12...picked it up for $30 on Facebook local for sale..great deal..then I noticed that it was export model 240v!! So,I got a hell of a deal on a 750watt step up transformer..luv the subwoofer tho...

 

[hobie1dog]

Kliptch ksw12...picked it up for $30 on Facebook local for sale..great deal..then I noticed that it was export model 240v!! So,I got a hell of a deal on a 750watt step up transformer..luv the subwoofer tho...

I bought a Klipsch subwoofer about 10 years ago and it was the boomiest subwoofer that I have ever heard in my life and so I immediately sold it back on Craigslist, live and learn and get what you pay for most of the time.

 

[timothyemerson]

I got a SVS PB3000 recently.

Terrifying wall-creaking, couch-shaking, ornament-moving, goosebump-inducing bass. I've never heard or felt anything like it apart from the initial few moments of an earthquake. Not even at the cinema. It's overkill for the room but it's better to have a gun and not need it, blah-blah.

If anyone's looking at getting a SVS sub, you gotta download the app to really dial it in and get the most from it. Lots of different settings that you can monkey with and I'll probably be doing so for months. It buries my old REL Quake.

Good times.

 

[H.A.L.]

Love my two Klipsch 12-inch subs, but damn, I also blame them for that infernal ringing in my ears that happened not long afterwards and persists .

Seriously thinking of canning one, and using the amp slot to go from 5.2.4 to 7.1.4 with wides. . . .

 

[Dwgwnr1969]

Love my two Klipsch 12-inch subs, but damn, I also blame them for that infernal ringing in my ears that happened not long afterwards and persists .

Dude...are u jokin around?! Because I have total ringing in my ears for a couple of months now!

 

[H.A.L.]

Dude...are u jokin around?! Because I have total ringing in my ears for a couple of months now!

Sadly, not. Love this surround hobby, but I also blame it for hearing loss. Guess I'll just have to crank it higher from hereon .

 

[Ranasakawa]

I have a JAMO 10" and I have never been able to get a decent bass from it since I upgraded my receiver

 

[jhw59]

My Carver will be going to Bill soon for servicing. I bought a SVS to replace the cylindrical SVS I have as my wife hates the large footprint. So, I have a sub sub. Eventually, I will be selling the other SVS if anyone is interested. thanks for the app rec, just downloaded it.

 

[Mcallister]

4 Danley DTS-10’s
2-GSG Devastators armed with NSW-6021’s
3-MB Quarts 12’s in a BOSS platform
2-DIYSoundgroup MBM-12’s VNF MBM’s

no weaknesses at this point. Have more headroom then i need, amazing fidelity as the drivers don’t have to do much work at this point.

you can see 2 of the DTS-10’s hiding behind the Devs and my Danley LCR’s

 

[Beefalo]

4 Danley DTS-10’s
2-GSG Devastators armed with NSW-6021’s
3-MB Quarts 12’s in a BOSS platform
2-DIYSoundgroup MBM-12’s VNF MBM’s

no weaknesses at this point. Have more headroom then i need, amazing fidelity as the drivers don’t have to do much work at this point.

you can see 2 of the DTS-10’s hiding behind the Devs and my Danley LCR’s

 

[GOS]

Strengths - massive output, monumental bass...tight...musical
Weakness - too damn big.

Oops, forgot brand....Let me look at my signature. lmao

 

[Jim the Oldbie]

+1 to all the recommendations for multiple subs. Even two of them, properly placed, can really smooth things out.

I also have a personal preference for sealed enclosures, partly because the more gradual rolloff (vs reflex designs) seems to work better in the room, and also because they're just simpler - they make my brain hurt less when I'm trying to design & measure them; fewer things to get wrong. Yes you do have to mind your excursion limits - with a sealed design each lower octave requires 4 times the excursion of the one above it - but that's another area where multiple units can help.

But enough tech talk - bring on the speaker porn! Check out this bad boy:



No joke - I use 2 of these every day. They're a pair of Large Advents (remember those?), with the tweeters & crossovers disconnected, and the original 10"-in-a-12"-hole woofers replaced with 12" Kenwood DVC car woofers. Each 4 ohm voice coil gets its own 110 watt amp channel from an Outlaw 7075 power amp (440 watts total). They're carefully placed and blended, and room EQ'd right down to 16 Hz. They won't win any SPL contests, but I live in an apartment, so they're more than adequate for my needs - they can shake the room pretty goddamn hard actually.

"But Jim - they look like ASS!" you might opine. Well, you're not wrong. Turns out I'm kind of a sentimental old fool. I've had these things since I was a teenager. They were in the back of my van (in their original form), blasting away on the night I wrecked it. I was drunk as hell that night, and extremely lucky to have walked away with only property damage. I checked into detox the next morning, and haven't had a drink since that night, almost 40 years ago. So yeah, they're missing some chunks here and there, but I still love 'em. Besides they really do sound amazing. Everything - music, movies, whatever - floats on a smooth, deep sea of bass.

I might upgrade someday, but not in any hurry.

 

[sbrom]

Two Rythmik F8’s. Each sub has dual servo-controlled 8 inch woofers. Fantastic for music, extremely tight. Not so great for home theater use, response falls like a rock below 22 Hz.

 

[shokhead]

Specifications:

● 12" Down-firing Driver

● Ported Enclosure

● 525 Watt BASH Amplifier

● Parametric Equalizer Built-In (except on Textured
Black version)

● Dimensions: 25" H x 18" W x 25" D

● Weight: 110 Pounds

Native 20 Hz tune is deep enough for nearly all applications, the PB12-Plus can be tuned even deeper. To do so, the user inserts a foam port blocker (two are provided) and adjusts the amplifier tuning knob from 20 Hz to 16 Hz. Inserting the port blocker drops the tuning frequency of the enclosure to about 16 Hz, and adjusting the tuning knob enables a custom equalization curve and high pass filter optimized for the 16 Hz tune. The PB12-Plus can be tuned deeper still by inserting two foam port blockers and adjusting the amplifier tuning switch to 12 Hz (again enabling a custom equalization curve and high pass filter optimized for the 12 Hz tune).

101.5 dB output level at 20 Hz is the highest output I have yet measured from a single-driver subwoofer in this test. Home Theater and Audio review 2006

I LIKE BASS/LFE, LOUD!

 

[Dwgwnr1969]

Tell us what subwoofer that you have in your system, and what you like or wish it did better.

Have a klipsch ksw12 sub that I scored 4 30 bucks..its a great sounding sub...very powerful and has hi level and line level inputs.

 

[Beefalo]

I'm happy to have negotiated with my wife for a music area. It's a shared space and there are bookshelves across the front.
Due to room layout I'm unable to utilize large tower speakers for the front channels. So I'm limited to bookshelves.
To compensate I have a small Def. Tech 7.5" sub directly below each bookshelf speaker. They are fast & tight (dual passive radiator) boxes and don't go down that low.
In the back I have 2 - SVS SB12 - NSD. These are 12" fast & tight sealed boxes.
I can set crossover points separately for front & rear subwoofers. I can also use the parametric EQ separately for F & R.
I listen to alot of stereo Rock & Roll.
After experimenting I realized I don't like the really low bass coming from the front. To my ears it muddies the stereo field. I actually use the EQ to sharply drop the bass at 40hz in the front subwoofers.
The low bass comes from the 12" SVS subs. One in each rear corner. I have found that bass in the back of the room accentuates the discrete nature of the rear channels.
This setup is great for music but might lack in the very low & slow bass you could get from ported enclosures.

 

[Mcallister]

Slow bass from ported enclosures for large subs is a myth. If you time align and spend time calibrating large subs will not only be as tight and fast as small subs as many people believe but they will trounce them in all areas due to less distortion from both the subwoofer driver and the amplifier, will work much less harder, etc.

too add room treatment is very important, any sub/speakers great or bad will sound bad in a poor room.

 

[himey]

I'm happy to have negotiated with my wife for a music area. It's a shared space and there are bookshelves across the front.
Due to room layout I'm unable to utilize large tower speakers for the front channels. So I'm limited to bookshelves.
To compensate I have a small Def. Tech 7.5" sub directly below each bookshelf speaker. They are fast & tight (dual passive radiator) boxes and don't go down that low.
In the back I have 2 - SVS SB12 - NSD. These are 12" fast & tight sealed boxes.
I can set crossover points separately for front & rear subwoofers. I can also use the parametric EQ separately for F & R.
I listen to alot of stereo Rock & Roll.
After experimenting I realized I don't like the really low bass coming from the front. To my ears it muddies the stereo field. I actually use the EQ to sharply drop the bass at 40hz in the front subwoofers.
The low bass comes from the 12" SVS subs. One in each rear corner. I have found that bass in the back of the room accentuates the discrete nature of the rear channels.
This setup is great for music but might lack in the very low & slow bass you could get from ported enclosures.

I grew up listening to subs in a car, in the trunk. Having bass from the rear becomes preferable.

 

[Sal1950]

I'm happy to have negotiated with my wife for a music area. It's a shared space and there are bookshelves across the front.

I also negotiated a settlement with the wife, she's now the ex-wife and I do whatever I like with my gear.

One in each rear corner. I have found that bass in the back of the room accentuates the discrete nature of the rear channels.

I grew up listening to subs in a car, in the trunk. Having bass from the rear becomes preferable.

You gentleman confuse me. Bass should not sound like it's coming from anywhere other than the correct placement in the soundstage as determined by the engineer-producer. I have dual Hsu subs, one in the left front corner and one mid-wall in the rear. Position was first determined as to smooth the FR across the room nodes as best as possible. Then Audyssey XT32+Editor app was used to adjust the timing and levels individually, and then the FR eq'd as a pair.. Sub's disappear as a sound source and become integrated into the whole of the soundstage.